Jeremyriad

I think the easiest way to set up this exposition for my generation is to say that Simonetta Cattaneo Vespucci (above) was to the painter Botticelli as Kate Moss was to Calvin Klein. (But because this was Florence, Italy in the 1470s, think more “high society” than “heroin chic.”)

German designers Julian Appelius and Karen Olze revived Botticelli’s muse and 5 other icons of classical art for Blind Passengers, a series of screens meant to be mounted on the insides of car windows. In addition to Vespucci, the screen options include: the bust of Nefertiti, Vermeer’s girl with the pearl earring, Arcimboldos’ ‘Spring’ and two cherubs by Raffael. The blind has the function of providing shade for passenger’s in the vehicle, but simultaneously, it provides art for passers-by and other cars on the autobahn.

[via Designboom] Click through to see the other screens. I also couldn’t help embedding a 1989 video clip of Ride playing “Drive Blind” live as well as a 1977 video featuring a really drugged out Iggy Pop doing the classic Stooges’ “The Passenger”. Enjoy!